New Operation Makesafe Strategic Toolkit launched to strengthen disruption of child sexual exploitation
The Hydrant Programme has today launched a new Operation Makesafe Strategic Toolkit, designed to help police forces strengthen the consistent, preventative, and disruptive response to child sexual exploitation (CSE) across England and Wales.
Operation Makesafe is a nationally recognised initiative focused on early identification of risk, intelligence development, and disruption of child sexual exploitation, working alongside prevention and safeguarding activity. It supports officers and partners to identify concerns earlier, act sooner and interrupt offending before harm escalates.
While many forces already deliver Makesafe activity, inspections and reviews have highlighted that, without clear strategic oversight, opportunities to identify offenders, disrupt exploitation and reduce long‑term harm can be missed. The new toolkit has been developed to address that gap.
The Operation Makesafe Strategic Toolkit provides forces with practical guidance to embed Makesafe within wider CSE prevention, intelligence, and disruption frameworks, rather than delivering it solely as a tactical or one‑off initiative.
By supporting a structured, strategic approach, the toolkit helps forces to:
- strengthen intelligence flows from business engagement and community reporting
- identify patterns of concern linked to locations, individuals and networks
- target enforcement and disruption activity more effectively
- ensure Makesafe activity contributes directly to wider CSE investigations and disruption plans.
This approach recognises that engagement with business communities a vital route to building intelligence, identifying offenders, and disrupting exploitation at the earliest possible stage.
The Operation Makesafe Strategic Toolkit includes:
- A clear strategic overview outlining the national purpose, expectations and disruptive value of Makesafe
- Planning guidance to help forces tailor activity to local threat, risk, and harm
- A one‑page summary for briefings, presentations, and senior leadership updates.
Together, these resources support forces to move from activity‑based delivery towards intelligence‑led, disruptive practice that is aligned with force‑wide CSE strategies.
Phil Ashford, National CSE Development Coordinator for the Hydrant Programme, said the toolkit is a key step in strengthening the national disruption of CSE:
He added:
“Child sexual exploitation is a complex and evolving threat. A consistent, nationally aligned approach enables forces and partners to identify risk earlier, disrupt offending more effectively and protect children before harm escalates.”
The toolkit reinforces the importance of close partnership working, recognising that disrupting child sexual exploitation cannot be achieved by policing alone.
By encouraging consistent engagement with local authorities, safeguarding partners and business communities, Operation Makesafe supports earlier identification of concerns, improved information sharing and timely intervention to disrupt exploitation and pursue offenders.
Where to find it
The Operation Makesafe Strategic Toolkit is now available to forces and policing partners via the Police Digital Service Knowledge Hub or by contacting [email protected]
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